Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 26,294 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Booking were worth $63,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,017.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,771.33 and a 200-day moving average of $3,720.94. The stock has a market cap of $134.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.